Dental Implants Glasgow

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Some great news to share with everyone…
I’ve just discovered that I’ve been named among the UK’s Top 50 most influential dentists and my position at 26 in the poll makes me the highest-ranking Scots-based dentist.
The prestigious Dentistry magazine issues its Top 50 every year and votes come from within the dental profession.This is my debut appearance on the list.
In their citation about me, the Dentistry Top 50 organisers said I am “regarded as one of Scotland’s finest implants surgeons” and added that I have “a deep knowledge and understanding of implantology from intensive study both in the UK and internationally”.
Their kind and generous words made me blush a bit but obviously I’m absolutely delighted with the placing in the Top 50 list. It’s always good to get recognition from your peers – especially from the many dentists with whom I work on training and mentoring sessions all over the country..
Dentistry has been my passion since my teenage years as I feel very privileged to work in a profession which can transform people’s lives by helping to recreate the natural beauty and impact of a smile.
I also work a lot with people who have experienced sports injuries or other dental traumas and the difference we can make in improving their lives is significant.
It’s a great accolade – and I’m also delighted for the team at the clinic.

It’s the big day…
Keys handover day for the building that will house the new clinic.
Several big site meetings are scheduled with architects, interior designers and associated professionals as we get the green light to proceed with the radical transformation of the premises.
This is a real dream come true for me and I have very specific aims and objectives about how the clinic will be. Today’s patients – whether in for a check-up or for an implant – have high expectations in terms of patient care and comfort and my own standards are high.
I’ve done my research on how the clinic will be fitted out with input from all over the world. The plans are a real melting pot of bringing together what the patient needs and expects and my vision to create an environment that’s different and state of the art.
The new design has been endorsed by many of the leading dental companies who will in their own way associate themselves with the project.

Big smiles all around and great excitement in the Friel household as baby Arnold’s first tooth emerges!
With both parents dentists you can imagine the anticipation of our baby’s dental debut…
And of course as more baby teeth emerge we’ll keep a close, careful watch on their development and as soon as Arnold’s old enough we’ll begin the process of teaching him how to clean his teeth properly.

The British Society for the Study of Prosthetic Dentistry (BSSPD) is one of the oldest of the specialist dental societies in the UK and was founded in 1953. The worldwide membership is approaching 500, and the society is always actively pursuing new members who have an interest in fixed, removable, implant or maxillofacial prosthodontics (technical terms for more advanced dentistry techniques). They held their 2010 annual conference at the Stirling Management Centre. This year’s speakers came from all over the world. I took part in presenting a poster to delegates. This involved a presentation of a particular area of my work to showcase the benefits achieved in a particular technique of cosmetic dentistry.
One of the highlights of the weekend was a dinner held in Stirling Castle – it was a fantastic opportunity to network and discuss the latest in the world of implant and cosmetic dentistry techniques.

Work on the new clinic in the west end of Glasgow continues and progress is being made on the plans for the interior design and layout that will give patients a positive and rewarding experience.
And there’s also a focus on the outside. We’ve been looking at the exterior of the building and ensuring that our gardens will also look great.
We’re considering a couple of landscaping options to ensure that not only the work enhances the building but also improves the appearance and in turn boosts the neighbourhood.
All in all it means there’s a lot to think about in terms of the design for every single aspect of the new clinic.

Toronto-based Steve Bongard is one of the world’s experts on a specific system for work on tooth implant restoration.
As part of my ongoing research and learning about the latest techniques in implant work, I was lucky enough to spend the day with him recently.
I will also visit his clinic in Toronto to see at first hand his implantology work in action.
This technique involves a fixed implant solution with four or five implants positioned in such a way to avoid the need for any invasive sinus elevation work or bone grafting techniques. The process allows patients to leave with fixed teeth at the time of the surgery.
Implantology is constantly changing and I enjoy researching the latest techniques and processes in order that I can offer these to my patients.

As part of the plan to move into our new clinic I’ve been working on compiling a staff handbook. The task is now complete and I’ll be sharing the document with the team members.
The team at Philip Friel Advanced Dentistry is very important as part of the process of ensuring that our patients – whether coming for check-ups or for implant work – have a positive experience.
We want them to think that the clinic deserves 10/10 if they’re talking about us to their friends and family members.
Staff welfare is extremely important and as well as knowing what each of us is responsible for in the clinic it’s all part of a great recipe of ensuring that the team functions as a team.
When we’ve been designing the new clinic we’ve looked at each of the team members’ roles and ensured that the new facilities are created to ease the patient journey from appointment scheduling to eventual recall.

I’ve been on the lecture circuit again – this time in Glasgow lecturing to dentists who are training in implant dentistry. This was organised by Stephen Jacobs, implantologist and President of the Association of Dental Implantology. My topic was computer guided surgery. I was very honoured to be invited to conduct the lecture. Back in 2004 I was one of the first surgeons in the UK to be trained in the Nobel Biocare guided surgery concept. I underwent this training in Philadelphia at the renowned Balshi/Wolfinger Prosthodontics Intermedica Clinic. Computer guided surgery can offer a quick and accurate method for the predictable and atraumatic placement of dental implant fixtures.

We supported The Journalists’ Charity recently with a donation of a bespoke teeth whitening programme. The event was very well attended because of the guest speaker – David Cameron, the Conservative leader. With the election looming I think people here in Scotland were keen to see him perform “live”.
Our donation was hugely popular with bidding fierce during the auction.

Plans for the new clinic are progressing and getting to the stage of some major decision-making.
Working in the world of dental implants, cosmetic dentisty and general dentistry in the 21st century means one extremely important decision….and that’s the what and the how when it comes to decontamination and sterilising procedures.
I’ve just had a top-level meeting with Jim Fraser of DB Dental to put together the detailed specifications for our decontamination suites for the new clinic.
Like all dental clinics, we give the highest degree of importance and commitment to maintaining the utmost levels of sterilising and decontamination.
Our new clinic will be state of the art in all ways and will be governed strictly from the initial set up.
We can help to achieve our aims by selecting specific product materials/ fabrics to be used and by the introduction of laminar air flow which eradicates any air borne germs.
The whole topic of decontamination is not something that patients may ever question but at our clinic they can rest assured that it is an exceptionally high priority.